Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB464 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	81R2041 JJT-D
2	2	By: Zaffirini S.B. No. 464
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to reconstituting the system benefit fund as a trust fund
8	8	and to uses of the fund.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 39.903, Utilities Code, is amended by
11	11	amending Subsections (a), (b), (d), (e), (h), (i), (j), (j-1), and
12	12	(l) and adding Subsections (a-1), (j-2), and (j-3) to read as
13	13	follows:
14	14	(a) The commission shall establish a system benefit fund as
15	15	a trust fund outside of the state treasury to be used [is an account
16	16	in the general revenue fund. Money in the account may be
17	17	appropriated] only for the purposes provided by this section [or
18	18	other law]. The commission shall provide for the fund to be held by
19	19	a financial institution eligible to be a depository for state funds
20	20	under Chapter 404, Government Code. Interest earned on the [system
21	21	benefit] fund shall be credited to the fund. Money in the fund may
22	22	be disbursed from the fund only as provided by this section.
23	23	[Section 403.095, Government Code, does not apply to the system
24	24	benefit fund.]
25	25	(a-1) The commission shall include in the report the
26	26	commission submits under Section 2101.011, Government Code,
27	27	information regarding the system benefit fund as if the fund were a
28	28	fund subject to Subsection (c) of that section.
29	29	(b) The [system benefit] fund established under Subsection
30	30	(a) is financed by a nonbypassable fee set by the commission in an
31	31	amount not to exceed 65 cents per megawatt hour and [. The system
32	32	benefit fund fee is] allocated to customers based on the amount of
33	33	kilowatt hours used. An electric utility shall remit to the fund
34	34	the fees received from retail electric providers in accordance with
35	35	procedures prescribed by commission rule.
36	36	(d) The commission annually shall [annually] review and
37	37	approve [system benefit] fund accounts, projected revenue
38	38	requirements, and proposed nonbypassable fees. The commission by
39	39	rule shall adopt payment schedules, reporting requirements, and
40	40	review procedures, including a method for administrative review, as
41	41	the commission determines is necessary to ensure that the fund is
42	42	funded and that disbursements from the fund are properly made.
43	43	Electric utilities and retail electric providers shall file regular
44	44	reports as required by commission rule. Municipally owned
45	45	utilities and electric cooperatives that implement customer choice
46	46	are subject to commission rules adopted under this section. All
47	47	records and reports related to the rate reduction program under
48	48	Subsection (h) are subject to audit on commission request. The
49	49	commission may require an electric utility or retail electric
50	50	provider to provide additional information as necessary to assess
51	51	contributions to and disbursements from the fund, and that
52	52	information submitted is not subject to disclosure under Chapter
53	53	552, Government Code. The commission shall issue monthly reports
54	54	on compliance with reporting requirements and quarterly reports of
55	55	revenues to and expenditures from the fund. The reports must be
56	56	made available on the commission's Internet website. [The
57	57	commission shall report to the electric utility restructuring
58	58	legislative oversight committee if the system benefit fund fee is
59	59	insufficient to fund the purposes set forth in Subsection (e) to the
60	60	extent required by this section.]
61	61	(e) Money in the [system benefit] fund may be used
62	62	[appropriated to provide funding] solely for programs to [the
63	63	following regulatory purposes, in the following order of priority]:
64	64	(1) [programs to:
65	65	[(A)] assist low-income electric customers by
66	66	providing the 10 to 20 percent reduced rate prescribed by
67	67	Subsection (h), using all money available in the fund that is not
68	68	otherwise dedicated by or used under this section; [and]
69	69	(2) [(B)] provide [one-time] bill payment assistance
70	70	to low-income electric customers [who are or who have in their
71	71	households one or more seriously ill or disabled low-income persons
72	72	and] who have been threatened with disconnection for nonpayment and
73	73	who have one or more persons in their households for whom an
74	74	interruption or suspension of service will create a dangerous or
75	75	life-threatening condition, using at least two percent of the
76	76	fund's annual receipts;
77	77	[(2) customer education programs, administrative
78	78	expenses incurred by the commission in implementing and
79	79	administering this chapter, and expenses incurred by the office
80	80	under this chapter;]
81	81	(3) [programs to] assist low-income electric
82	82	customers by providing the targeted energy efficiency programs
83	83	described by Subsection (f)(2), using at least 12.5 percent of the
84	84	fund's annual receipts;
85	85	(4) educate customers, using not more than 3.5 percent
86	86	of the fund's annual receipts; and
87	87	(5) pay administrative expenses of administering this
88	88	section [programs to assist low-income electric customers by
89	89	providing the 20 percent reduced rate prescribed by Subsection (h);
90	90	and
91	91	[(5) reimbursement to the commission and the Health
92	92	and Human Services Commission for expenses incurred in the
93	93	implementation and administration of an integrated eligibility
94	94	process created under Section 17.007 for customer service discounts
95	95	relating to retail electric service, including outreach expenses
96	96	the commission determines are reasonable and necessary].
97	97	(h) The commission shall adopt rules for a retail electric
98	98	provider to determine a reduced rate for eligible customers to be
99	99	discounted off the standard retail service package as approved by
100	100	the commission under Section 39.106 and shall require a retail
101	101	electric provider to apply the same reduction to any rate plan under
102	102	which an eligible low-income customer is receiving service. A
103	103	retail electric provider may not establish a rate plan that is
104	104	available only to a low-income customer eligible for a reduced rate
105	105	under this subsection [, or the price to beat established by Section
106	106	39.202, whichever is lower]. Municipally owned utilities and
107	107	electric cooperatives shall establish a reduced rate for eligible
108	108	customers to be discounted off the standard retail service package
109	109	established under Section 40.053 or 41.053, as appropriate. The
110	110	reduced rate for a retail electric provider shall result in a total
111	111	charge that is at least 10 percent and, if sufficient money in the
112	112	[system benefit] fund is available, up to 20 percent, lower than the
113	113	amount the customer would otherwise be charged. [To the extent the
114	114	system benefit fund is insufficient to fund the initial 10 percent
115	115	rate reduction, the commission may increase the fee to an amount not
116	116	more than 65 cents per megawatt hour, as provided by Subsection
117	117	(b).] If the fee is set at 65 cents per megawatt hour and [or if]
118	118	the commission determines that revenues anticipated to be due to
119	119	the fund [appropriations] are insufficient to fund the 10 percent
120	120	rate reduction, the commission may reduce the rate reduction to
121	121	less than 10 percent. For a municipally owned utility or electric
122	122	cooperative, the reduced rate shall be equal to an amount that can
123	123	be fully funded by that portion of the nonbypassable fee proceeds
124	124	paid by the municipally owned utility or electric cooperative that
125	125	is allocated to the utility or cooperative by the commission under
126	126	Subsection (e) for programs for low-income customers of the utility
127	127	or cooperative. The reduced rate for municipally owned utilities
128	128	and electric cooperatives under this section is in addition to any
129	129	rate reduction that may result from local programs for low-income
130	130	customers of the municipally owned utilities or electric
131	131	cooperatives.
132	132	(i) A retail electric provider, municipally owned utility,
133	133	or electric cooperative seeking reimbursement from the system
134	134	benefit fund may not charge an eligible low-income customer a rate
135	135	higher than the appropriate rate determined under Subsection (h).
136	136	A [retail electric provider not subject to the price to beat, or a]
137	137	municipally owned utility or electric cooperative subject to the
138	138	nonbypassable fee under Subsection (c)[,] shall be reimbursed from
139	139	the system benefit fund for the difference between the reduced rate
140	140	and the rate established under [Section 39.106 or, as appropriate,
141	141	the rate established under] Section 40.053 or 41.053, as
142	142	appropriate. A retail electric provider [who is subject to the
143	143	price to beat] shall be reimbursed from the system benefit fund for
144	144	the difference between the reduced rate and the rate established
145	145	under Section 39.106 or the rate plan under which the customer is
146	146	receiving service, as appropriate [the price to beat]. The
147	147	commission shall adopt rules providing for the reimbursement.
148	148	(j) The commission shall adopt rules providing for methods
149	149	of enrolling customers eligible to receive reduced rates under
150	150	Subsection (h), including methods for a customer to self-enroll
151	151	through the commission or through an administrator designated by
152	152	the commission. The rules must provide for automatic enrollment as
153	153	one enrollment option. The Health and [Texas Department of] Human
154	154	Services Commission and other governmental entities, on request of
155	155	the commission, shall assist in the adoption and implementation of
156	156	these rules. The commission and the Health and [Texas Department
157	157	of] Human Services Commission shall enter into a memorandum of
158	158	understanding establishing the respective duties of the agencies
159	159	[commission and the department] in relation to [the] automatic
160	160	enrollment. An electric customer who self-enrolls for the rate
161	161	reduction program under Subsection (h) is eligible for a period of
162	162	13 months after the date the customer's eligibility is established.
163	163	The commission annually shall audit the status of an appropriate
164	164	sample of customers who self-enroll.
165	165	(j-1) The commission shall adopt rules governing the bill
166	166	payment assistance programs [program] provided under Subsection
167	167	(e)(2) [(e)(1)(B). The rules must provide that a customer is
168	168	eligible to receive the assistance only if the assistance is
169	169	necessary to prevent the disconnection of service for nonpayment of
170	170	bills and the electric customer is or has in the customer's
171	171	household one or more seriously ill or disabled low-income persons
172	172	whose health or safety may be injured by the disconnection]. The
173	173	commission may prescribe the documentation necessary to
174	174	demonstrate eligibility for the assistance and may establish
175	175	additional eligibility criteria. The Health and Human Services
176	176	Commission, on request of the commission, shall assist in the
177	177	adoption and implementation of these rules.
178	178	(j-2) The commission, in the terms of a contract governing
179	179	the actions of a contractor trustee managing the fund, shall
180	180	establish limits on allowable costs to the fund for auditing and
181	181	administering the fund, allowable costs to the fund for
182	182	administering programs under this section, and allowable costs for
183	183	enrolling customers in the rate reduction program under Subsection
184	184	(h).
185	185	(j-3) The commission annually shall issue a projection of
186	186	revenues and expenses for the fund and programs under this section.
187	187	If the commission determines during an even-numbered year that the
188	188	fund will be insufficient to fund the minimum rate reduction under
189	189	Subsection (h) for the following state fiscal biennium, on or
190	190	before January 15 of the next odd-numbered year the commission
191	191	shall issue a report to the legislature concerning the sufficiency
192	192	of the fund.
193	193	(l) For the purposes of this section, a "low-income electric
194	194	customer" is an electric customer:
195	195	(1) whose household income is not more than 125
196	196	percent of the federal poverty guidelines; or
197	197	(2) whose household includes at least one person who,
198	198	based on household income, qualified for and participates in at
199	199	least one of the following public assistance programs for persons
200	200	with low incomes:
201	201	(A) [who receives] food stamps, [from the Texas
202	202	Department of Human Services or] medical assistance, or the
203	203	children's health insurance program, as approved by the Health and
204	204	Human Services Commission;
205	205	(B) federal housing assistance;
206	206	(C) the national school lunch program for free or
207	207	reduced-price lunches; or
208	208	(D) lifeline telephone service [from a state
209	209	agency administering a part of the medical assistance program].
210	210	SECTION 2. The Public Utility Commission of Texas shall
211	211	adopt rules under Section 39.903, Utilities Code, and reinstate the
212	212	low-income discount program under Subsection (h) of that section,
213	213	as amended by this Act, as soon as is practicable. Fees for the
214	214	system benefit fund collected under Section 39.903, Utilities Code,
215	215	before the effective date of this Act shall be remitted to the
216	216	comptroller of public accounts for deposit in the general revenue
217	217	fund. Fees for the system benefit fund collected under Section
218	218	39.903, Utilities Code, after the effective date of this Act shall
219	219	be remitted to the Public Utility Commission of Texas not later than
220	220	31 days after the fees are collected until the commission adopts
221	221	rules governing the remittance of the fees to the trust fund
222	222	established under that section, as amended by this Act. The Public
223	223	Utility Commission of Texas shall hold fees remitted to it under
224	224	this section in trust for the benefit of the system benefit fund
225	225	until that fund is established as provided by this Act and shall
226	226	transfer those fees to the fund on the date the fund is established.
227	227	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.